Chapter 469: Interrogation before the imperial court
After a while, someone was escorted over.
In fact, there are not many thieves left alive, only dozens of them.
After all, the people were too cruel.
The thieves who attacked the private camp obviously didn't expect it. They originally thought it was a night attack, and even thought the target was a sure thing... Who knew, they actually alerted ten or even dozens of people and used various weapons to directly attack them physically.
In this kind of chaos, it is harder to survive than to reach the sky.
After all... you can't stop anyone among so many people from taking physical damage to you.
These dozens of people can be said to have accumulated virtues from their ancestors, and their ancestral graves are filled with smoke.
But even for them, their situation is not very good, and most of them are dying.
One of them was identified and immediately found out, it was that Friday.
Friday's face was full of horror, and he was wailing and begging: "Spare my life, spare your life!"
The captain of the Jin Yiwei did not hesitate and conducted the interrogation all night long.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Returned to the camp.
Baihu pressed the knife and continued: "The news sent from the western suburbs of Kaifeng said that a group of thieves also attacked the camp there and were captured. I think... there are people in every camp.
For the night attack, fortunately, a lot of people were trained on weekdays, and the people were united, but even so, there were dozens of people injured or killed at night. These thieves came with a fierce attack, and they were obviously well prepared."
Zhu Gaochi frowned and said, "Who instigated this?"
"The interrogation is ongoing, and the results will obviously be available soon."
Zhu Gaochi nodded.
The hundred households said again: "But what Yingli and Jinyiwei are saying is... His Highness the Crown Prince is afraid that it is not appropriate to stay here for a long time and should return to the capital as soon as possible. I will escort His Highness back to the capital soon."
Zhu Gaochi was now stronger, his face was rosy, and his whole body was full of energy. It was obvious that he was in good health.
At this time, he stood up and clasped his hands behind his back, walked a few steps, pondered for a moment and said: "It's just the situation in Kaifeng that I can't let go of."
"Your Highness." The hundred households said, "Your Highness is the crown prince, and your heart is for the world. The affairs here will be handled by others."
When these hundred households spoke, their tone was extremely respectful.
Zhu Gaochi remembered that when he was in the model camp, many people were more afraid of him.
Perhaps after entering the camp, Zhu Gaochi's gentle temperament gradually made many captains realize that His Highness, so noble, could be so humble and kind.
Or perhaps, Zhu Gaochi still abided by the rules in the camp and convinced others.
Zhu Gaochi's face now looked gentle, but also a bit more resolute.
After he pondered for a while, he said: "The thieves raided and my palace fell, but since I am here, there is no reason to return to the capital for refuge?"
Baihu was stunned: "But..."
These hundreds of households looked troubled, obviously worried about Zhu Gaochi's safety.
Zhu Gaochi already knew at this time that from now on, he was no longer an officer of the model camp, but the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, Zhu Gaochi couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief. The change of identity made him feel a little reluctant.
When I was in the camp, there were no rules and regulations. Most of the time, I had no distracting thoughts in my mind and just needed to exercise my body.
This not only did not make him feel tormented, but also gave him an indescribable sense of relief.
After all, as a former prince, he had too many things to think about. This kind of heavy pressure sometimes made him breathless.
The most difficult job in the world is to be a prince, you must be cautious and walk on thin ice.
What's more, his father was a general who only thought about marching and forming formations, but he threw all the chores on him.
This in turn increased his pressure countless times, because the emperor's handling of world affairs and the prince's handling of world affairs were completely different concepts.
The emperor can handle things as he pleases and as he pleases, and even if he encounters resistance, it won't be a big deal.
But the prince needs to be careful. If he does not do well, he will be scolded. If he does too well, there may be villains who will slander him.
The emperor can promote his own confidants, but the prince needs to be more careful to avoid being suspected that he is cultivating his own team.
Even though his father had never thought so, Zhu Gaochi still had to check himself at all times just in case.
Although it was hard work in the model camp, here, there are almost no such worries. My mind is empty and I feel relaxed like never before.
But now, it is obvious that the situation no longer allows him to continue to be an ordinary team officer.
In the past, Zhu Gaochi was indecisive. He always had to look forward and backward when doing things, taking one step at a time and looking at the next.
But now, perhaps because he was in the model camp, he was tainted with the simplicity and roughness of the military.
Or perhaps, after coming to Kaifeng, I witnessed many incredible sights.
Therefore, Zhu Gaochi made a decisive decision and said: "Immediately send a letter to the Jinyi captains and civil servants in the four provinces and state capitals to be on strict guard. However, if there is an attack, they can deal with it as the opportunity arises. I grant them arbitrary power. Otherwise, I will give them arbitrary power."
, the Jin Yiwei immediately found out the real culprit. Once the real culprit is found, they will immediately investigate the main culprit. These thieves are so rampant that no one can be let go."
Zhu Gaochi said, walked two more steps, lowered his head and thought seriously, and then said: "I will pass on my edict again. All the prefects and counties in the four provinces will be temporarily exempted and replaced by civil servants everywhere.
Temporarily take their positions, and from now on, military law will be implemented. The local parents and officials are deeply entangled with the local gangsters. Now is an emergency. Everything will be dealt with separately after the four provinces are stabilized. "
"Since it is a marching law, then... the Jinyiwei and the model camp, in addition to immediately organizing guards to strictly guard and protect the people, also need to interrogate all suspicious persons. The local inspection departments are taken over by the Jinyiwei...
"
After hearing this, hundreds of households hurriedly said: "I'm humble, I will order someone to deliver the order."
Zhu Gaochi stayed up all night.
He couldn't sleep.
Fortunately, he was in good health and was able to endure these days.
Soon, news came from Jin Yiwei.
A directory was handed into Zhu Gaochi's hands.
Zhu Gaochi only glanced down at the roster and said, "Is it confirmed?"
"There is no doubt about it." The captain said: "Your Highness, Friday, who was captured, is a member of the Zhou family. He has been looking after the Zhou family's home and hospital. He was ordered by Zhou Juren..."
The captain reported in detail.
Zhu Gaochi nodded and said: "In that case, what are you doing for free? Deploy the guards, appoint a few more Jinyi guards and school captains from the model camp to accompany them, and they will all come with me. They will immediately search the Zhou family, the Wang family, and the Zhao family, and operate overnight.
, don’t let the news leak out and make people run away.”
"Here."
Zhu Gaochi seemed to remember something at this time, and then said: "Once the thieves in various prefectures and counties fail to attack, they know that their sins are serious and they must flee. It is even possible that these desperadoes will gather together, and then... or
It will become a thorn in the side of my great Ming Dynasty."
"When the news came out, the model camp immediately mobilized three hundred-family-sized troops from nearby counties and counties, with three hundred troops as the backbone, and also summoned some guards to be ready to counter the rebellion at any time."
After giving detailed instructions, Zhu Gaochi hurriedly left the camp and quickly disappeared into the night with his men and horses.
…
At this time, Zhou Juren was obviously worried all the way, but he still had great hope.
I have to say that this was all thanks to the people recruited by the Jin Yiwei and the people from the Taiping Mansion.
These well-fed and well-fed people, during these days, actually rebuilt official roads everywhere and laid many stone bridges for convenience, so that roads that were originally muddy and difficult to travel are now smooth and smooth.
On the road paved with gravel, Zhou Juren immediately met many people traveling with him.
Some of these people set out early from Guanzhong, and some came from other prefectures in Henan. They met along the way and reported their homes. Although they were hundreds or even thousands of miles apart from each other, there were quite a few of them, and they were all known to Zhou Juren.
figure.
These... are all the seeds of scholars in the world. Not talking about their knowledge and family background, just talking about their connections, they are all world-class.
There are countless members of the family who serve as officials in the court.
Zhou Juren suddenly felt reassured. With these people traveling together to Nanjing, great things could be decided.
So in the blink of an eye, they had arrived in Zhenjiang.
After taking a ferry from Zhenjiang, you can go to Nanjing along the waterway.
At this time, the city of Nanjing was already overcrowded, and almost all the inns in the city were full.
People like Zhou Juren did not come alone. They were accompanied by many bookboys, servants, and maids, as if they were moving.
More and more people gathered together. As soon as they arrived in the capital, they were not in a hurry to file a lawsuit, but immediately went to visit relatives.
Which family like theirs doesn't have several relatives serving as officials in the court?
Zhou Juren immediately went to visit one of his cousins.
This cousin was serving as the minister of ceremony in Taichang Temple. When they met each other, they were not very sorry. When they talked about the affairs in the village, the cousin also became angry and angrily scolded Zhang Anshi for being shameless.
Then he gave Zhou Juren some advice: "Zhang An is so powerful in the world that one person or two cannot defeat him. The best way is for all the people in the world to complain and complain. In addition, someone in the court will take advantage of the opportunity to act."
.As a brother, I am just a servant. I have a humble position and a small position. I really can’t be of much help. However, this is a tragic situation in this village. You and other gentlemen must report it. Only then can there be hope of success and debt relief.
, there is hope.”
Zhou Juren took note of this and went to see some relatives and friends.
He had been to the capital when he first took the exam, so he had no intention of visiting.
As more and more people like Zhou Juren gathered here in the capital, rumors spread that it was the 19th day of the seventh lunar month, a day when Tai Sui would be able to redress his grievances.
July 19th is said to be the birthday of Tai Sui Xingjun. Tai Sui has the greatest influence among all gods and is known as the Son of Heaven. He is responsible for the good and bad luck of the year in the world. The ancients believed that Tai Sui was a bad omen.
, you can choose to go to redress your grievances on this day. Undoubtedly, someone used this to imply that Zhang Anshi's insult to them was an offense against Tai Sui, which meant that Tai Sui was in trouble.
So on July 19th, countless people went to the Meridian Gate in unison.
In an instant, there were two thousand people in attendance.
At the gate of the palace, a eunuch came out expressionlessly. He originally wanted to check the details, but many people took the complaints and sent them to him.
The eunuch's scalp was numb when he saw it. Although he couldn't understand all the complaints, he felt that this matter was not trivial.
He immediately went to the palace to report.
Zhu Di generally knew the details of these people. When there were people who came to Beijing to express their feelings for such a major disaster in the four provinces, Zhu Di encouraged him from the bottom of his heart.
After all, this was also an important channel for the emperor to understand the sentiments of the people.
Therefore, he specially summoned the officials to take this opportunity to have a discussion in front of them.
But the eunuch sent this thick pile of complaints to him.
At first glance, Zhu Di was shocked at first, but kept his expression, and then said calmly: "Distribute the officials and teach them to come and see...the sufferings of the people in the world."
The eunuch bowed and said yes, and then distributed the complaint one by one to all the officials in the palace.
When one portion was given to Zhang Anshi, Zhang Anshi lowered his head and saw the dazzling words of the poor man's tearful statement.
Zhang Anshi didn't bother to read it, he couldn't see the tragedy in such words.
The officials all looked down and looked at each other, their expressions were very strange, and they all had strange looks on their faces.
Zhu Di, however, was sitting still, with a somewhat tired look on his face. He was not in good health these days. After all, he was not young. Some old illnesses from the battlefield recurred, and occasionally he was in pain.
Zhu Di said: "Call some people here, I want to hear what they have to say."
After hearing this, he bowed and left.
After a while, a dozen people were invited. The first one immediately fell to the ground and said: "The common people have seen your Majesty..."
Zhu Di lowered his head to look at these people, and his expression changed slightly.
These common people behaved in a formal manner without any formality or nervousness. Even when they spoke, they spoke in formal Mandarin without too many accents.
Looking at their appearance, it is obvious that they have good access to food, clothing, housing and transportation.
After Zhu Di felt a little surprised, he said: "If you have any grievances, tell them."
Everyone rushed to answer: "Your Majesty, the grassroots people and so on... are really miserable, this..."
Zhu Di said angrily: "Tell each other, arguing about what to say? Come on..."
He pointed at one of them casually and said, "Tell me."
This person turned out to be Zhou Juren.
Zhou Juren had already made plans along the way, and he was well prepared. He said: "The grassroots people are the common people of Kaifeng. Henan was hit hard by the disaster, and the land was thousands of miles away. The grassroots people suffered heavy losses. However... the government originally provided timely relief, and the imperial court even more
It rained and dew fell, and they tried their best to provide relief, but unexpectedly... a group of people from Taiping Prefecture came later. These people... as soon as they arrived in Kaifeng, they also announced that they would provide relief to the people. Not only that, but they also forced the common people to buy food.
"
"Buying grain?" Although Zhu Di also heard some reports from Dongchang.
However, all the manpower in the East Factory was transferred away by Jin Yiwei, and the information collected by the remaining people was incomplete.
Yi Shiha felt that a lot of the news had not been confirmed yet, so he did not dare to report it casually.
After all, if there is no report, it is laziness at best, but if the report is untrue, it is bad.
Furthermore, His Majesty is not in good health right now, and there are some things that I am afraid to report casually, for fear that Your Majesty will be so angry that he will be in bad health.
Zhu Di stood up, walked around for a few steps with a frown on his face, then looked at Zhou Juren intently and said, "Why do you want to buy grain?"
Zhou Juren hurriedly said: "The price of food that Taiping Mansion forcibly sells to the grassroots people is one tael of silver and one stone..."
After Zhu Di heard this, his face suddenly turned cold.
One tael of silver and one stone of grain are almost as if they were robbed by one of his peers.
You know, a few years ago when food prices were relatively stable, one tael of silver was equivalent to seven or eight shi.
This is equivalent to a direct price increase of seven to eight times.
"After that, even one stone of grain cost one, two, two, or three taels of silver. How dare the common people disobey the saying that the people will not fight with the officials? But later, they forced to sell it, but the common people were already short of money.
So, he forced the common people to borrow money to buy grain. The common people had no choice but to borrow money and borrow countless amounts of money on credit to buy the grain..."
As he said this, Zhou Juren burst into tears sadly.
In fact, what he said can be regarded as nine percent true and one percent false.
He bought the grain, and he really bought it at a high price.
They also borrowed money, and now they have borrowed money and ruined everything, which is correct.
The only thing that was untrue was that they had taken the initiative to buy it, but now it was forced to be sold by Taiping Mansion.
Of course, Zhou Juren was confident about this. After all...the man behind the Taiping Mansion was Zhang Anshi, who had great power.
And he is just a weak commoner.
This week Juren wiped his tears again, and said with a pitiful look: "Common people, we are really desperate. Originally... I thought I was just giving up some family wealth to avoid trouble from the Jin Yiwei. But now... I have been ruined.
The family was destroyed, and now... the debt is burdened, and the family business has been destroyed. If this continues, the family will be ruined. As a last resort, he went to Beijing to sue, but he did not dare to accuse the court, but... he hoped that the common people would wait and obey.
The original price of the food will be refunded so that the common people can barely have a foothold, and the rest... I don’t dare to hope for it anymore.”
"Your Majesty is a holy king..." Zhou Juren kowtowed: "You will definitely be able to make decisions for the common people."
He never mentioned Zhang Anshi, and even Jin Yiwei did not make an excessive attack.
And his so-called begging was just a refund of the money. Anyone who heard this request would find it reasonable and reasonable.
After Zhu Di listened, he chewed his words carefully and couldn't help but feel a little moved.
Although he knew that the Jinyiwei went to provide relief and seemed to be doing a good job, the Jinyiwei had actually had a cruel side since the founding of Emperor Taizu Gao. It was conceivable that if the Jinyiwei entered the folk, some people would be unruly and bully the people.
.
Zhu Di couldn't help but said: "Zhang Qing's family..."
Zhang Anshi looked surprised. He originally thought that there would be huge accusations from these people, and they would be directed at him, and they would wantonly criticize him.
But who would have thought that the opponent's thunder was loud and the raindrops were light, but it was precisely because of this that Zhang Anshi became extremely vigilant, and only then did he realize...these people are really thieves.
Zhang Anshi said: "I am here."
Zhu Di said: "Is this possible? Go and check it out. After a thorough investigation, report it to me."
Zhang Anshi said: "Your Majesty, there is no need to explain this. This is not an unauthorized act by Jin Yiwei. Everything was ordered by me."